Sandbox III: Revenge of the Sandbox

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SCP Sandbox

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Special Containment Procedures: A three (3) meter fence is to be placed around the perimeter of the north-western section of the ████ bog in ███████, surrounding no less than than 5 square kilometers of space. Public officials are to be told that a dig site is to be prepped and trespassing is forbidden. At least two (2) faux archaeology teams are to drive through an unfenced section of the bog twice a week, ensuring to be viewed by the public.

In the case of a breech of SCP-####-1, the specimen is to be escorted back to the fenced section and the fence is to be inspected for any weak points or holes. In case of public awareness of SCP-####-1, the specimen is to be passed off as a hoax perpetrated by residents of the area, only using amnesiacs when necessary.

Description: SCP-#### refers to an event that had occurred at the ████ bog in ███████, in some time in 19██. During this event, a portion of animals preserved in the bog had reanimated and risen through the layers of peat moss through unknown means. Reconstituted specimens, referred to as SCP-####-1, have a lower amount of grey matter and show severe damage to their bodies. However, more fragile organs, such as the eyes, are usually functional, if not undamaged, converse to typical organisms preserved in similar environments, suggesting the anomaly offers a limited regeneration factor to vital and sensory organs during SCP-####. SCP-####-1 specimens are unable to perform cellular mitosis. As such, any damage dealt to a specimen will not heal, making them especially susceptible to animals such as flies and mice that are able to swarm and eat a significant amount of matter in a relatively short amount of time. So far, no SCP-####-1 specimen has been found completely lacking vital organs, suggesting that SCP-#### did not take effect on any organism that would be unsuitable to resume living, and that the regeneration factor is unable to rebuild entire organs.

SCP-###-1 specimens resume behavior typical of regular organisms in such a habitat. Attempts to mate have also been observed, though no success at reproduction has been recorded.

███ human instances of SCP-####-1 have been observed in the bog. Of these ███, ██ are female ███ are male, and ██ were unable to be identified. Human instances will usually form small groups. Typically, they consist of five (5) to ten (10) members, being lead by a single specimen, usually a male. This specimen typically assumes a role similar to a tribal chief. The group will form hunting parties, and, using crude weaponry, bring back game1. Specimens have been shown to mostly eat raw meat, though some groups have been shown to attempt cooking meat before eating.

Isolated instances have also been observed. Some such instances have been cast out of their groups. In rare cases, some have been seen to act with extreme hostility to other instances of SCP-####-1, as well as to other humanoids. However, most isolated instances only wander without any discernible goal.

Addendum ####-A: Researcher ████ suggested video surveillance to be set up around the bog to more closely study SCP-####-1 instances' behavior. Her request was initially denied for safety and monetary reasons, though was later accepted after a similar feat was accomplished while studying SCP-████.

Subject: Human SCP-####-1 instance, male. Leader of a hunting party.Procedure: Multiple subjects were embedded with a chip, which tracked said subjects' location. Multiple specially-made cameras were also planted around the ████ bog, each set up to automatically start recording when the chip was detected by a sensor, the chip actively being highlighted in the footage for differentiation. Most cameras were able to swivel and zoom automatically, leaving very little blind spots. Procedure was repeated for the rest of the logs.<Begin Log>14:37 First detection of Subject . Subject is walking with a long dried stick.15:12 Subject reaches destination, where four (4) other human instances of SCP-####-1 are, each with an assortment of crude weaponry. Subject gestures to them, and sits down on a rock. It gestures again to another instance, and a stone is tossed at it, though the Subject fails to catch it and it hits it's chest. Subject picks up stone and begins to whittle down end of the stick.15:23 Subject stops whittling. The result is a crude spear. It gets up and gestures to the rest of the instances. They rise and start following the subject.16:52 After nearly an hour and a half of walking, the Subject raises its hand in a "stop" gesture, and crouches. The group follows along. A non-SCP-#### affected buck is seen a few yards away. Subject sneaks forward, coming closer to the animal.16:53 The buck hears the Subject and runs. The Subject and the group start running towards it. One of the instances are throwing rocks at the buck to no noticeable effect.16:58 The Subject, pursuing roughly 20 feet away from the buck, throws its spear at it. It bounces off the buck's right hindquarter, leaving a deep, bleeding gash. The buck limps, though is still ambulatory. The group follows the blood trail left behind in the grass.17:14 The buck collapses due to a mixture of exhaustion and blood loss. The group catches up and two instances hold it down as another instance throws a heavy stone at the back of its head. The buck's neck breaks, killing it instantly. The group begins carrying the buck. The Subject leads the way.17:50 The Subject sees its spear midway through the trail and picks it up.18:21-18:47 The group reaches its destination, a clearing containing six (6) other SCP-####-1 instances, likely their social group. Their presence draws the attention of the other instances in the clearing, and they begin to gather around. The hunting party set the deer down in the middle of the clearing, and, using a sharp flint(?), the Subject begins cutting chunks of meat off of the carcass and hands them around. The instances feed, eating the meat raw, as well as the fur, skin, and bones.18:48 The last of the deer has been eaten. Very little waste was left. Most instances began to lay down and sleep.18:49 After a short rest after eating, Subject approaches the edge of the clearing. It begins gathering dried leaves, sticks, and any rocks it can find. It also gathers a large, split branch.18:53 Subject sits down and piles up the leaves and sticks. It then sets down the split branch and starts rubbing it with one of the gathered sticks, in a similar fashion to the fire plow method of fire starting.18:57 A light smoke starts emanating from the branch. The Subject flips the branch onto the kindling, and begins fanning it. A small fire starts. The Subject appears to be excited. It rests besides the fire and falls asleep.2:21 Subject wakes up and rises. It scatters the remains of the fire past the clearing.2:22 Subject wakes up the rest of the hunting party. They grab their weapons and head out.7:12: The hunting party hears a noise. The Subject crouches and moves towards it.7:13: The source of the noise is shown. Two (2) human children, around the ages of 10, are walking through the bog. "This is stupid," is heard in the ████████ language. The Subject watches the children closely.7:14 The children converse as they approach the tree group the Subject and the hunting party are hiding behind. The Subject continues watching them, wide eyed, seemingly remembering something. No intention to chase or hunt the children is seen.7:15 One of the children parts a hanging tree branch, revealing the Subject. The Subject reacts in surprise. The children scream and run away, and the Subject drops its spear and chases them. Eventually, the Subject becomes tired, and pauses. The children are gone by the time the Subject has recovered. Subject leans against a tree, staring straight down into ground. Hunting party stands in a similar state.7:17 Subject regains composure, picks up its spear, and begins walking again. The rest of the party does the same.<End Log>Notes "The reaction to seeing unaffected humans is a big point of interest. Instead of showing aggression as I theorized, they seemed puzzled, or in a state of remembrance. Perhaps there are still some lingering memories that have been jogged by seeing something familiar. It is also curious that the instances were armed with improvised weapons and were even able to manufacture them from scratch. Perhaps it is not too significant, as this could be a discovery that had to be made by at least one group of instances. Hopefully further recordings will give us more details. As for the children, I believe our disinformation campaign will take care of any problems that may arise from that. Any further trouble will be met with direct and immediate intervention. I do not know how they entered, as no recording has seen them scale the fence or cut through it, but in any case, the fence will be secured and reinforced," - Researcher ████

Subject: Human SCP-####-1 instance, female.Procedure:See Log 1<Begin Log>2:05 First detection of Subject. Subject is pulling plants and bundling them in its hand.2:23 Subject sees a possum that is unaffected by SCP-####. The possum hisses at the subject, and the Subject tries to stomp on it. It misses, and the possum runs away. Subject continues pulling plants.2:27 Subject stops collecting plants, and begins walking.2:41 Subject stops and looks at a flowering plant. After roughly a minute of examining the flower, the Subject picks it and carries it with its arm outstretched.3:11 Subject reaches its destination. Another instance of SCP-####-1 is resting against a tree. It tenses at the sound of the Subject approaching, but relaxes when it sees the origin of the sound. Subject kneels next to the instance and inspects its forearm, which has sustained a wide gash. Subject shakes its head, seemingly in disappointment.3:12-3:22 Subject chews on the collected plants and spits them out on its hand. It rubs the paste into the gash. Subject then plucks petals from the flower and puts them into the gash. The instance continues resting.3:23 Subject finishes working on the wound and covers it in leaves. It reclines against a tree adjacent to the other instance. It eats the rest of the flower that remains and falls asleep.<End Log>Note: "The fact that the Subject had some idea of treating a wound, though it was completely off, does support SCP-####-1 instances still retaining some memories. I'm not sure though. The instances still have some intelligence, and it might just be experimentation as a consequence of that rather than any remembrance of before they were affected. There just isn't enough data in yet to make a solid conclusion." - Researcher ████

Subject: Human SCP-####-1 instance, male, aggressive.Procedure:See Log 1<Begin Log>5:20 First detection of Subject. Subject crawls out from under a pile of leaves. It begins walking on all fours.5:31 Subject hears footsteps and stops walking. 3 more human instances of SCP-#### appear in view. They turn to look at the Subject as they walk by. The lead steps near the Subject, and it lunges towards the instance and snaps its mouth. The instance flinches, and the group speeds up. They disappear from view.5:32 Subject continues to walk.5:35 Subject encounters the remains of a squirrel affected by SCP-####. The cause of death is not apparent. Subject picks it up and eats the remains without skinning or removing any of its bones. Subject also consumes a considerable amount of dirt stuck to its hands, though it doesn't seem to notice. Subject continues to walk.6:07-6:12 Subject sees a group of human SCP-####-1 instances. They surround a freshly killed deer unaffected by SCP-####, and are preparing to transport it. Subject goes into close proximity to the group, and stands on its legs. It breaths heavily through its teeth, producing a hissing noise. The other SCP-####-1 instances step back. Subject falls back onto its hands and tries to tear into the deer carcass. One SCP-####-1 instance, carry a large stick, steps forward, and tries to scare off the Subject by pretending to attack. Subject leaps forward and grabs the instance by the legs. Both fall to the ground. Subject claws at the instance's face, while the instance tries to push off the Subject. The other instances begin to rally. Subject has worked its nails into the eye of the instance. The instance screeches, and punches the Subject's solar plexus, stunning it. The instance gets up, pushing away the Subject, and steps back, putting its hands above its damaged eye. The rest of the instances begin to attack the Subject. The Subject, still recovering from the previous attack, tries to curl into a fetal position. The instances continue to kick and stomp the Subject, until one instance picks up the stick dropped by the original instance and begins hitting the Subject's head. The instance doesn't stop until the Subject is clearly dead. The group resumes preparing the deer for transport, though the injured instance has to be lead by another instance.

<End Log>Note: It's interesting that the instances continued to attack the Subject even after it was clear that it wasn't a threat anymore. Some of the more "poetic" staff have joked that that is clear evidence that instances still retain humanity, while I rebuke them for having such a, well, edgy, for a lack of better words, way of thinking. I digress. We were lucky enough to capture at least some footage of these hostile instances that have been speculated to exist, based on injuries seen on other instances, and even luckier to observe such an interaction between two instances not from the same social groups, however short said footage was. Regardless, almost an hour of footage is better than nothing. I have heard suggestions to retrieve the body of the Subject and perform an up-close inspection or autopsy to see what else SCP-#### had affected. Case in point, we've never heard them make noises that require the use of vocal chords, even though they should still be decently well preserved, considering what other organs survived. An autopsy would also get us a closer look at the changes to the brain. A request is currently being written. Hopefully we can get the body before it's too late. - Researcher ████

Addendum ####-B: Researcher ████ requested for the body of Subject 3 to be retrieved for further study. However, while her request was pending, the body went missing, and its chip had been found in ███████, █████ in a bird's nest, suggesting that the Subject was dismembered by either wild animals or other instances. Researcher ████ changed her request, instead asking for the immediate retrieval of any further occurrences of a dead instance. The latter request was accepted.

Subject: Human SCP-####-1 instance, maleProcedure:See Log 1<Begin Log>2:16 Subject is first observed immediately after the surveillance system was powered. Subject is lying on the dirt face down, asleep. Subject seems to be hiding something under its body.5:09 Subject awakes and gets up slowly. Underneath the subject is an imprint in the dirt. Upon further inspection, the imprint is a drawing of a typical "stick figure" girl.

Footnotes

1. Specimens don't show any preference between game affected by SCP-#### and those unaffected.